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Five Greco-Roman rivalry matches that didn't happen at the Open, but could happen in Raleigh

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by Mike Willis

Ben Provisor at the 2018 U.S. Open

These matchups feature wrestlers who have a history with each other that did not wrestle at the 2019 U.S. Open. While not all of these will come to fruition this weekend at the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Raleigh, N.C., there is a good chance that some of them will.
87 kg: Ben Provisor (NYAC/NLWC) vs. Pat Martinez (NYAC/USOTC)
Pat Martinez came into the 2019 U.S. Open as the No. 1 seed, and Ben Provisor was the No. 2 seed. Joe Rau won the Open taking out Provisor in the semifinals and Martinez in the finals, so we did not get to see these two meet. Martinez finished runner-up and Provisor took third. In the 2018 World Team Trials finals, Martinez defeated Provisor in a three-match series to earn the World Team spot. In 2017 Provisor defeated Martinez in the World Team Trials semifinals, and he would go on to make the World Team. Provisor also defeated Martinez in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympic Team Trials, and would end up becoming Team USA’s Olympic representative. 
60 kg: Ildar Hafisov (Army/WCAP) vs. Dalton Roberts (NYAC/NMU-OTS)
Coming in as the No. 1 seed, Dalton Roberts fell in the semifinals to Leslie Fuenffinger at the 2019 U.S. Open. Roberts would battle back to take third, while Fuenffinger would take the title, defeating No. 2 Ildar Hafisov in the finals. Last year, Roberts defeated Hafisov in three matches in the 2018 World Team Trials finals to earn the World Team spot.
55 kg: Dalton Duffield (NYAC/NMU-OTS) vs. Randon Miranda (NYAC/NMU-OTS)
Dalton Duffield took second at the 2019 U.S. Open, losing in the finals to Max Nowry. Randon Miranda took fourth at 60 kg. Duffield was a 2018 National Team member at 55 kg and Miranda was a National Team member at 60 kg. They also both made the U23 World Team at 55 kg and 60 kg. The pair wrestled at the 2019 Dave Schultz Memorial International when Miranda dropped to 55 kg. Duffield won by fall, but Miranda still ended up winning the round robin. Both of these wrestlers are currently training at Northern Michigan.
63 kg: Sammy Jones (NYAC/NMU-OTS) vs. Travis Rice (NYAC/ IRTC) 
Sammy Jones came into the 2019 U.S. Open as the No. 3 seed, and Travis Rice came in as the No. 4 seed. Ryan Mango would defeat Rice in the semifinals and Jones in the finals to take the title. Rice came back to take third. Both wrestlers are Northern Michigan products, with Jones still training there, while Rice trains with the Illinois Regional Training Center. The pair wrestled at the 2018 U.S. Open where Jones won, 11-0. More recently, they wrestled at the 2019 Dave Schultz Memorial with Jones winning a much closer bout, 3-3.
82 kg: Cheney Haight (NYAC) vs. John Stefanowicz (USMC)
Cheney Haight came into the 2019 U.S. Open as the No. 1 seed, and John Stefanowicz came in as the No. 2. Both fell in the semifinals. Haight lost to Spencer Woods, and Stefanowicz lost to Kendric Sanders. The pair defaulted their next two matches to finish in fifth and sixth. Haight defeated Stefanowicz in the 2018 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament finals 5-3, before losing to Geordan Speiller in the best-of-three finals. At the 2017 World Team Trials Haight made the team defeating Stefanowicz in two matches. Haight also defeated Stefanowicz at the 2017 Dave Schultz Memorial and the 2016 U.S. Open.

 

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